The way May 1, 2015, started for the Cardinals, it didn’t seem like it would become a day that could change the course of the organization. Unless it was for the worse.

But what is it they say about unanswered prayers?

About being careful what you wish for?

About how it’s better to be lucky than good?

All of that came into play for the Cardinals that year on May Day, the second day of the NFL draft.

With the 55th overall pick, the Cardinals had their hearts set on Nebraska running back Ameer Abdullah. Terry McDonough, vice president of player personnel, was on the phone with Abdullah, who had to take the call outside to escape the noise of a draft-day party.

“We’ve been talking about this pick since the combine,” Arians said in the video.

Then Detroit, with the 54th pick, called Abdullah’s agent to say they were taking him. Abdullah relayed the information to the Cardinals, whose draft room became somber.

The Cardinals quickly regrouped.

Keim traded with the Ravens to move down three spots where the Cardinals took outside linebacker Markus Golden. And in the third round, the Cardinals drafted a running back they had ranked behind Abdullah, a kid out of Northern Iowa named David Johnson.

“It’s definitely crazy how things work out,” Johnson said. “Me and Markus talk about that all the time, how different our lives would have been if Ameer would have came here.”

Judging by the past two years, the Lions did the Cardinals a favor by taking Abdullah. He’s played well when healthy, but he missed 14 games last season after suffering a foot injury in Week 2.

Johnson has proved to be one of the more talented backs in the NFL. In 2016, he set franchise records for touchdowns (20) and scrimmage yards (2,118). Over his first 32 games, Johnson has scored 32 touchdowns. Only six players in NFL history scored more touchdowns in that period of their careers.

Cardinals linebacker Markus Golden speaks to the media on May 7, 2015, after being drafted by Arizona six days prior.(Photo: Tom Tingle/azcentral sports)

Golden has a standard answer when people ask him about the circumstances that led to the Cardinals drafting him in the second round.

“I’m glad to be with the Cardinals organization, but anywhere ... I would have had success,” he said.

Golden didn’t watch “All or Nothing,” but he’s heard the play-by-play of the Cardinals draft room on that May 1.

“Once you start googling your name, it pops up there,” he said. “That’s the business side of it. I bet everybody is happy that didn’t happen.”

Abdullah, who is expected to start for the Lions on Sunday, was well aware of the Cardinals’ interest in him in the weeks leading up to the draft. As a youngster in Alabama, he attended a camp that Arians and his son, Jake, operated in Birmingham. Abdullah told Detroit reporters this week that he was the camp’s most valuable player when he was a sophomore in high school.

“He (Arians) was high on me then and it was just ironic that he reached back out, I was on the phone with him, but I’m glad I’m in Detroit,” he said. “It all worked out.”

On draft day, Abdullah is the one who broke the bad news to Arians: Detroit was going to draft him.

“I don’t think he was happy about it,” Abdullah said. “Of course, you put your eggs in a basket, thinking it was going to work out. It don’t, but shoot, they ended up getting David Johnson next round so things worked out. Both teams got the person they wanted.”

Not all of what happened that day can be attributed to luck, Arians said. Things worked out for the Cardinals because Keim and his scouting staff had compiled a draft board that allowed them to quickly get over the disappointment of losing Abdullah.

“It’s happened to me at least eight or nine times,” Arians said. “Sitting there thinking, ‘Oh, we’ve got this guy,’ and boom, he’s gone either the pick right before or two picks before."

The lesson from that day is to have the draft board set correctly and move on, Arians said.

“Steve and Terry have done a great job of always having two or three guys right there, that we’re going to get one of these guys,” he said. “And if we don’t like this one, have them ranked, and turn that card in and make sure everybody’s happy. Because I don’t think we’ve ever picked a guy that I haven’t been happy about.”

Numbers crunch

The Cardinals have beaten the Lions seven consecutive times and won 12 of the past 15 meetings. Should the Cardinals win, it would be the longest winning streak in franchise history against Detroit. The teams have been playing each other since 1930.

Despite being in different divisions, these guys play each other seemingly every year. This will the 15th meeting since 1998. From that point to now, the only years they didn’t play were 2000, 08, 10, 11 and 16

The Cardinals will travel a total of 30,035 miles this season. Only the Rams (32,600) and Raiders (30,899) are scheduled to travel more miles than Arizona in 2017.

Arizona Cardinals linebackers Deone Bucannon, left and Karlos Dansby wait on the sidelines in the bubble during practice at the training facility in Tempe, Friday, September 29, 2017. Tom Tingle/azcentral sports